Since The Met opened just over a year ago it has played host to some of the best international artists in the business. On a balmy Friday night however, it saw one of Australia’s most prominent DJs tearing up the Valley club for two hours ahead of what looks set to be an intense two and a half month tour that will take the former Yugoslavian born producer all across the States, SE Asia, and Europe. In the past it has sometimes become fairly predictable what kind of crowd you’re going to get in The Met but after being ushered in by the beautiful girl at the door (she told me to say that), and making our way to the main dancefloor where Brisbane’s Murray Brown already had a swelling crowd enthusiastic about what he was dishing out, it was clear to see that tonight would be something other than predictable. There was the distinct possibility that tonight, the fake tanned hides of the boys and girls would be turning their attention to the music rather than each other.
Brown delivered a set very much in keeping with the average mood you’d expect from the start of the night. Lots of comfortably predictable house tunes to keep the crowd pumped, and entice anyone not already on the dancefloor. While passing on the offer of putting my “Hands Up For Detroit” for the millionth time, the crowd were certainly up for it. Old favourites like a techno-addled reworking of Da Funk, Toca’s Miracle and the wheeling out of Jack’s House kept the dancefloor full and the speakers working overtime. Mercifully, the quality of the remix allowed the crowd to even endure James Blunt’s 1973, but still those grating vocals manage to sear through you like a convict who’s being electrocuted.
Thankfully the blistering opening of Dirty South’s set eradicated all traces of Blunt. The combination of the blinding spotlights suddenly blasting through the outpouring of smoke, while Carl Orff’s Oh Fortuna is unleashed upon everyone, all made for a memorable opening. The Melbourne DJ kept up the energy of the intro with the penetrating bass of his recent release Let It Go. With the lasers being used to good effect, and the lighting complimenting the music perfectly, it was clear to see that The Met had never been so packed. The dancefloor was nothing short of a seething mass of bodies and when Dirty South worked Soulsearcher’s Can’t Get Enough into the set, it was clear that a mixed bag was the order of the night.
As the nostalgia brought on by the aforementioned track that dominated a decade ago faded, it was replaced by another of Dirty South’s recent releases, Better Day which itself is reminiscent of the feelgood dance releases that so dominated the 90s. Underlying the nicely crafted electro and the omniscient bass is Dirty South’s almost signature guitar riffs that all combine to deliver a sound perfect for people that just want to dance long and hard into the night. The inclusion of the Seven Nation Army bassline just added to the frenzy. The build ups and peaks were all professionally delivered, and expertly timed to provide the crowd with the optimum clubbing experience and the energy needed to stay pumped well into the early hours of Saturday morning. Finishing, with delicious predictability that won’t get old for quite a while, with his most recent tuneThe End. So as Jim Morrison bid everyone farewell on Dirty South’s behalf, he wrapped up his set as he had opened it, with energy and generous helpings of that penetrating bass.
Pete Smith couldn’t have asked for a better DJ to take over from, as, when he opened with a nice techno reworking of Daft Punk’s live Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, the crowd responded with a lot more enthusiasm than when Daft Punk had been played earlier in the night. The visuals during Smith’s set were especially impressive, with footage from Daft Punk’s Alive tour featuring heavily and always a joy to watch. The same treatment was given to an almost unrecognisably hardcore version of Salmon Dance.
The heightened mood of the night was in safe hands as he picked up where Dirty South had left off and kept the atmosphere on the dancefloor present, and the crowd energized. The resident then had his own version of nostalgia to set loose amongst the crowd when he broke out a nicely altered version of Utah Saints’ Something Good. The night couldn’t be topped after hearing Kate Bush’s vocals given the electro house treatment so it was time to leave the still-brimming crowd to it. If The Met can keep up such an impressive portfolio of DJs paying it a visit, then it will remain one of the best clubs in Brisbane; because it’s the DJ that makes the club, not the other way round.
